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There are many great symphony orchestras in the world that I yearn to conduct, but I can count on one hand the youth orchestras with whom I want to spend my time. Without a doubt The Sydney Youth Orchestra is at the top of this list. Sometimes intense, but always brilliant and bold, conducting this orchestra and leading this organisation is as refreshing as it is challenging. Artistic horizons are broadened when seen through the lens of youth, and this perspective can give us all the wake-up call that is so important in keeping classical music alive. I hope you will share with me a new year of great music and exhilerating performances, and support Sydney’s best young musicians in realising their professional futures.
ALEXANDER BRIGER
ARTISTIC DIRECTOR AND CHIEF CONDUCTOR
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I have spent my life in a quest to be surrounded by the very best musicians that this city has to offer; little did I know that Sydney Youth Orchestras would be the company which allowed this dream to come true. There is something tangible about the energy that comes from hundreds and hundreds of talented young people converging to rehearse, learn and perform, and if, like me, you love classical music then I dare you not to become infected by their energy. I dare you not smile with delight when you hear a group of teenagers in the corridor talking about their favourite Mahler symphony! Please share SYO with me – it is for your family, friends, children and the joy of music that we exist.
YARMILA ALFONZETTI CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
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Sydney Youth Orchestras is the premier orchestral training organisation in NSW, forging dynamic relationships between young musicians and Australia’s leading music educators, conductors, and performers. Incorporating many different orchestras and ensembles, SYO provides a weekly orchestral training program for over 500 musicians aged 6 – 25 years. Connecting all ensembles is the SYO Orchestral Training Framework, a comprehensive system ensuring that musicians progress through the orchestras, developing individual and ensemble skills under the careful guidance of SYO’s artistic staff.
This training provides the essential foundation for all professional musicians. It is the combination of process-based practice in a structured learning environment, partnered with professional performance opportunities that makes SYO a unique training program nationally. Beyond equipping our members for careers as professional musicians, our program teaches, teamwork, discipline, dedication, leadership, and a commitment to excellence. Whatever career path these talented young people follow, they are likely to become artistic leaders in, and contributors to, their community.
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THE SYDNEY YOUTH ORCHESTRA The Sydney Youth Orchestra is the principal ensemble of the SYO family, attracting players who aspire to the highest level of orchestral performance and a future in the music industry. Led by internationally acclaimed conductor and SYO Artistic Director Alexander Briger, the advanced program provides innovative training and performance activities that focus on the development of technical and artistic excellence. It is designed to be broad-ranging, and to include chamber music, opera, dance and orchestral music from the Classical, Romantic and Contemporary periods, as well as new works by Australian composers.
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Performers from the SSO, ACO, and the AOBO tutor each section of the orchestra, which allows members further exposure to the top tier of professional musicians. Each year The Sydney Youth Orchestra presents a program of concerts in professional performing arts venues across Sydney.
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SYO PHILHARMONIC SYO Philharmonic (SYOP) is a full scale symphony orchestra of over 80 musicians, comprising 54 strings, plus harp, double woodwind, full brass, horns and percussion, led by acclaimed Australian conductor, composer and educator, Brian Buggy OAM. In the SYO Philharmonic, orchestral technique and ensemble skills are developed through playing the great works of the 19th and 20th century. The Philharmonic presents a number of public performances, tours to regional NSW, and delivers Meet the Orchestra concerts which introduce young children and their parents to orchestral music. SYMPHONIC WIND ORCHESTRA Symphonic Wind Orchestra (SWO) allows a large number of talented wind, brass and percussion players to broaden their repertoire knowledge under the leadership of SYO alumnus and respected music educator, James Pensini. Covering a diverse range of repertoire from popular 20th Century film scores, jazz classics and core orchestral repertoire, SWO gives players of orchestral wind, brass and percussion instruments an invaluable opportunity to experience playing in a large ensemble, touring, performing at public events and presenting Toddlers’ Proms.
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PETER SEYMOUR ORCHESTRA The Peter Seymour Orchestra (PSO), named after the founder of the Sydney Youth Orchestra Association, and now conducted by the legendary John Ockwell who performed in that very first orchestra, is where many of our musicians will get their first chance to tackle major orchestral repertoire. PSO musicians learn the essential foundations of orchestral training – instrumental technique, ensemble skills, understanding of style and symphonic form and sight reading. This early exposure to classical and early romantic repertoire, combined with the opportunity to tour and perform publicly provides the foundation of their future as a professional musician. TA N G O O Z TangoOz gives young musicians the unique opportunity to learn and play this music in an authentic tango orchestra under the guidance of tango specialist Maggie Ferguson. An associate of the Orquesta Escuela de Tango of Buenos Aires, Argentina’s national school of orchestral tango, TangoOz has unprecedented access to tango and milonga arrangements. TangoOz regularly performs in SYO concerts and public festivals and is open to students 15 years and over, who have achieved AMEB Grade 7 or equivalent on their instrument. PERCY GRAINGER & BROPHY PERCUSSION ENSEMBLES SYO has two Percussion Ensembles which train in collaboration with Synergy Percussion. SYO percussionists receive specialist training concurrently to being placed within an orchestra for concerts and rehearsals. In this way, SYO percussionists gain maximum range of orchestral and ensemble percussion skills while working closely with acclaimed performers and teachers. This is the only program that offers this kind of integrated percussion training in NSW.
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O R C H E S T R A P R O G R A M This structured program, with carefully selected repertoire, is designed to provide a progressive pathway for talented, young musicians. SYO prides itself in the highly trained and respected conductors who rehearse these ensembles each week, combined with regular sectional tutorials taken by professional string players.
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The entrance level orchestras are where our youngest string musicians gain their first ensemble experience, building group skills and forming new friendships. Students then progress to ensembles where their new skills are consolidated and they learn how to refine the orchestral sound. Players are encouraged to begin thinking more musically, with the introduction of varied rhythmic and tonal ideas. The mid-level orchestras add to the foundations already created with more focus on developing the skills required to sight-read and perform repertoire with advanced keys signatures.
Alongside awareness of style and expression, our conductors work to mature the students’ professional performance presentation. Intermediate players will develop their understanding of ensemble playing while extending their technical and aural skills. With this increase in skill level comes an enthusiasm for performance, leading to the discovery of an exciting range of more challenging repertoire. The culmination of the String Orchestral Program is an advanced string ensemble that is the springboard to the Peter Seymour Orchestra. Players receive invaluable opportunities to learn the vast string orchestral repertoire (from Barber to Purcell) and to further refine their ensemble skills to meet the expectations of performing in a full classical symphony.
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FOUR WINDS MOZART INTENSIVE THE SYDNE Y YOUTH ORCHESTRA
MOZART Symphony No.1, K.16 and Symphony No.41, K.551 (Jupiter) The Sydney Youth Orchestra, along with Chief Conductor Alexander Briger, will travel to Bermagui on the south coast of New South Wales for four days of intensive rehearsals and performances focusing on the music of Mozart. Based at the glorious Four Winds site, SYO will rehearse in the acoustically precise Windsong Pavilion, culminating in a concert in the outdoor Sound Shell, home of the Four Winds Festival.
31 MARCH-3 APRIL
BBC PROMS AUSTRALIA PETER SEYMOUR ORCHESTRA
The inaugural BBC Proms Australia will take place at The Arts Centre, Melbourne over four days in April 2016. The program will feature new symphonic works and classical favourites performed by the Queensland Symphony Orchestra and the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. Joining them will be SYO’s very own Peter Seymour Orchestra to perform a number of different concerts, including our very own Toddlers’ Proms. PSO will attend Proms concerts and masterclasses in this unique and exciting opportunity.
14-17 APRIL
AUSTRALIA-ARGENTINA EMERGING ARTIST S K I L L S D E V E LO P M E N T PROJECT TA N G O O Z
In June 2016, Sydney Youth Orchestras will coordinate and deliver the inaugural TangoOz: Australia-Argentina Emerging Artist Skills Development Project in Buenos Aires and Montevideo. This program will include an intense period of bespoke masterclasses, lessons, performances, and cultural activities to both inform, enhance and advance the students’ learning and development.
29 JUNE-14 JULY SYO CONCERTO COMPETITON SYO’s prestigious Concerto Competition has come of age with a prize including a music study trip to London and a performance with The Sydney Youth Orchestra.
HEATS SAT 30 - SUN 31 JULY FINALS SUN 8 AUGUST, 2PM
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PROGRAM BRAHMS Piano Concerto No.1, Op.15 TCHAIKOVSKY Symphony No.5, Op.64 Conductor Alexander Briger Soloist Simon Tedeschi In this special performance by The Sydney Youth Orchestra to commence what will be an exciting year of music-making, our friend and mentor Simon Tedeschi will feature as guest soloist. Brahms’ first piano concerto is a young man’s composition; from the stormy emotional opening to the musical portrait of Clara Schumann, the work is full of anguish and passionate revelation rarely found in his later music. Tchaikovsky too favoured the expressive side of composition, and while many of his peers were caught up in Russian nationalism, he was an intensely emotional man who regarded music as a lyrical medium. Is there any symphony more immediately moving than this one? Nowhere is Tchaikovsky less subtle, and nowhere more effective.
SATURDAY 19 MARCH, 7PM Verbrugghen Hall, Sydney Conservatorium of Music Macquarie Street, Sydney HOW TO TICKETS ONLINE PHONE
BOOK $15-$50 syo.com.au 02 9251 2422
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T R I U M P H A N T H E R O PROGRAM WEBER Overture from Der Freischütz, Op.77 CRESTON Concertino for Marimba & Orchestra SIBELIUS Symphony No.5, Op.82 Conductor Max McBride Soloist Stuart Rynn In 2016, for the first time, the SYO Concerto Competition features a prize which includes a performance with The Sydney Youth Orchestra and a trip to London to further the winner’s musical and instrumental studies. Percussionist Stuart Rynn triumphed in the heats and finals at the end of 2015, and stars in this performance of the lively and virtuosic Creston Concertino. Stuart is in his final year of a Bachelor of Music at the University of New South Wales, studying percussion with Leigh Giles from Synergy.
Sibelius’ Fifth Symphony is perhaps his most popular. It has an epic quality, a sweep and grandeur that triumphs over passing feelings of anxiety to celebrate the heroic, optimistic power of life. He achieves a striking richness of sound with a normal-size orchestra, in sharp contrast to the gigantic ensembles called for by such contemporaries as Strauss, Mahler and Schoenberg. A highly appropriate work to celebrate the achievements of SYO’s fine young musicians.
SUNDAY 5 JUNE, 3PM
Concert Hall, The Concourse 409 Victoria Avenue, Chatswood HOW TO TICKETS ONLINE PHONE
BOOK $15-$50 syo.com.au 02 9251 2422
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S E A PROGRAM WAGNER Dawn and Siegfried’s Rhine Journey VINE New commission VAUGHAN A Sea Symphony (Symphony No. 1) WILLIAMS Conductor Brett Weymark Sydney Philharmonia Choirs (SPC) is Australia’s finest choral organisation with 1500 choristers across four choirs. SPC and SYO have enjoyed a long and fruitful association, sharing the stage for many wonderful events including A Concert for Peace presented in May 2015. In 2016 we will collaborate on an exciting project, Behold the Sea - a diverse program including Vaughan Williams’ A Sea Symphony, excerpts from Wagner’s The Ring Cycle and the world premiere of a new work by dynamic Australian composer, Carl Vine. The performances take place in the Concert Hall of Sydney Opera House and combine the 400 voices of SPC’s Symphony and Festival Choirs led by Music Director, Brett Weymark. The opportunity to work with seasoned musicians will be invaluable for our young artists, and we are grateful for the mentoring role the SPC provides our organisation.
THURSDAY 22 SEPTEMBER, 8PM SATURDAY 24 SEPTEMBER, 2PM Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House HOW TO TICKETS ONLINE PHONE
BOOK FROM $50 syo.com.au 02 9251 2422
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PROGRAM DVORAK Carnival Overture, op.92 SHOSTAKOVICH Symphony No.5, Op.82 Conductor Brian Buggy OAM Conductor Alexander Briger
Sharing the stage for this mighty finale to 2016, SYO’s Philharmonic and Symphony Orchestras will showcase two of the most exceptional and magnificent works from the orchestral canon. Dvorák’s skill at creating atmosphere is at its best in the Carnival Overture, which the composer said was meant to depict “a lonely, contemplative wanderer reaching at twilight a city where a festival is in full swing”.
Angular and severe, the opening of Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony suggests the harshness of life in Soviet Russia, but triumph prevails in the mighty final movement. While these two outer movements have become well-known, it is the inner two which better reflect the composer’s style. Wit and satire, tragedy and poetry are what we see in this symphonic window that foreshadows the rich masterpieces to follow. A test of emotional development for any orchestra, it is in this work that The Sydney Youth Orchestra will succeed as they develop into the fully matured musicians that you will see and hear before you.
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HOW TO TICKETS ONLINE PHONE
BOOK $15-$50 syo.com.au 02 9251 2422
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Meet the Orchestra concerts have been composed with the classical music young children love! From Disney to classic nursery rhymes, audiences of all ages are encouraged to clap, dance and sing along.
SUNDAY 5 JUNE, 11.30AM The Concourse
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REGIONAL NSW OUTREACH SYO will travel throughout NSW in 2016 with the Symphonic Wind Orchestra and the SYO Philharmonic and present both Toddlers’ Proms and Meet the Orchestra concerts. This activity is not only an important opportunity of our young SYO’s Toddlers’ Proms are interactive concerts musicians to bond as an ensemble and build their designed to ignite the interest in music and performance skills but it provides an important instruments for children aged 2-8. Our cultural exchange for communities with limited conductor and players lead children through arts infrastructure. each section of the orchestra and give hands FRI 10 - MON 14 JUNE on demonstration of how each instrument creates sound.
SUNDAY 20 MARCH, 10.30AM The Joan Sutherland Performing Arts Centre, Penrith
SUNDAY 3 APRIL 9.30, 10.30 & 11.30AM Marrickville Town Hall
SUNDAY 16 JULY 9.30, 10.30 & 11.30AM
Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre
SUNDAY 14 AUGUST 9.30, 10.30 & 11.30AM Leichhardt Town Hall
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Bring your instrument and connect with other enthusiastic young musicians in the heart of musical excellence, the Sydney Conservatorium, Monday 11 – Friday 15 January 2016. Led by highly respected conductors and experienced tutors, aspiring orchestral musicians will be given access to world class facilities, intensive workshops and ensemble training. With the educational program developed by the SYO artistic team, players will build their skills in a fun, safe and artistically challenging environment. Join us for a week of learning, music and friendship you’ll remember forever! Conductors include James Pensini & Heloise Meisel.
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WHERE Sydney Conservatorium of Music WHO Young people aged 6-18 ABILITY Open to all aspiring orchestral musicians COST $500 for 5 days; $450 per additional sibling DURATION 9am-3pm Mon-Thu / 9am-5pm Fri, Drop-off from 8.30am
Aftercare available 3-5pm, Mon-Thu. $25/afternoon
INCLUDES Morning and afternoon tea Full details and bookings syo.com.au/summerschool
G I V I N G Sydney Youth Orchestras is a not-for-profit arts organisation dedicated to the orchestral education and training of young people. For 43 years SYO has been the engine room of excellence and produced some of Australia’s finest musicians, educators and lovers of classical music. With only 14% of our funding coming from government and 30% from our membership fees, SYO could not continue this work without the generosity of individual donors, foundations and our corporate partners. HOW TO GIVE BY PHONE 02 9251 2422 ONLINE syo.com.au/supporting BY CHEQUE Sydney Youth Orchestras Inc. 182 Cumberland St, The Rocks NSW 2000
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All funds raised ensure we can: - K eep membership fees and additional project activity costs to a minimum
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- P rovide scholarships to financially disadvantaged young people from Sydney - D evelop talent identification programs ensuring the best musicians have every opportunity to excel - K eep ticket prices low ensuring social inclusion and enjoyment of classical music for everyone - P rovide the foundation of artistic excellence for the professional orchestras of the future
S Y O F O U N D AT I O N LIFE MEMBERS Stephen Bell Susie Dickson and Martin Dickson AM Tim Samway Mike Thompson Jan Bowen Peter Davidson
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A R T I S T I C S TA F F SYO SENIOR ORCHESTRAS Alexander Briger Artistic Director & Chief Conductor Brian Buggy OAM Sydney Youth Philharmonic James Pensini Symphonic Wind Orchestra John Ockwell Peter Seymour Orchestra SYO ENSEMBLES Maggie Ferguson TangoOz Bree van Reyk Synergy Percussion
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STRING ORCHESTRAL PROGRAM Heloise Meisel
Irina Andreeva
Joanne Waples
Kathryn Crossing
Nick Tester
Alice Higgins
Peter Corkill
A B O U T S Y O S TA F F Yarmila Alfonzetti Chief Executive Officer Susan Hart Business Manager Mia Patoulios Development & Special Projects Manager Kim Millar Corporate Partnerships Manager Gretchen Habermann Marketing & Administration Coordinator Casey Green Operations Manager Helen Cho Events Operations Manager Nick Munro Operations Assistant Adrienne Salmon Development Coordinator Gail Pryor Archivist BOARD Jan Bowen Chair Anthony Bell Deputy Chair Geraldine Doogue AO Jon North Pieter Oomans Malcolm Long
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Sydney Youth Orchestras gratefully acknowledges our generous supporters, and applauds their commitment to youth and the cultural vibrancy of our community. MAJOR PARTNERS
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182 Cumberland St, The Rocks NSW 2000 T +61 2 9251 2422 F +61 2 9251 2744 E info@syo.com.au Photography: Craig Proudford / Toddlers’ Proms Photography: Prudence Upton / Design: Brad George This brochure is correct at the time of printing – October 2015. SYO reserves the right to vary, substitute or withdraw advertise programs and venues.